Ellen Degeneres Under Fire For Friendship With George W. Bush

[Shiloh Lyric]

Oh, you mean the group who went on to win grammys and was the biggest selling country group of all time at one point long after 2003? It wasn't right, but, before that and to this day, we boycott things we disagree with. I mean a dude wearing a Colin Kaepernick jersey was thrown out of Trump's rally in Minneapolis and Colin still can't find a decent quarter-backing job despite his talent. By the way, I DID agree with them, and never boycotted them, and when I heard someone bitching about them, reminded them that we have a 1st Amendment.

And, I still didn't have to whisper anything to anyone. Ever. I've always been pretty outspoken, politically, and I feel like it's more of a problem NOW, smack-dab in Trump country, then I ever did during Bush's tenure. And that was my question. WHERE do people live that they had to walk around whispering to each other. Because I didn't in Conservative Lancaster County where they'd vote for a cow as long as it had an "R" next to it's name on the ballot.

I mean, a dude just pulled a gun on a woman with an Elizabeth Warren bumper sticker last week. No one pulled a gun on the Dixie Chicks. I feel more like I should whisper NOW. I don't, because I won't, though.

 

[GoblinCampFollower]

WHERE do people live that they had to walk around whispering to each other.

Not where, so much as when. I am in MO, and it was very socially unacceptable to criticize Bush right after 9/11, or right after the invasion of Iraq (when Dixie Chicks did it). But now, it is probably socially acceptable to take a shit on Bush no matter where you are. Trump himself has said bush's wars were a total waste. ...one of the few things I agree with him on.

 

[Argent Stonecutter]

I had all kinds of uncomfortable conversations at work until I just quit talking about it, and a couple of middle eastern restaurants near me were burned down, and a guy with a UN sticker on his car had the windows smashed. It really was scary in Houston if you weren't all gung ho "bomb them into a parking lot".

 

[Cristiano]

Oh, you mean the group who went on to win grammys and was the biggest selling country group of all time at one point long after 2003? It wasn't right, but, before that and to this day, we boycott things we disagree with. I mean a dude wearing a Colin Kaepernick jersey was thrown out of Trump's rally in Minneapolis and Colin still can't find a decent quarter-backing job despite his talent. By the way, I DID agree with them, and never boycotted them, and when I heard someone bitching about them, reminded them that we have a 1st Amendment.

I was actually being facetious, but as far as the Dixie Chicks, it wasn't a boycott. They were blacklisted overnight in their industry and also had multiple death threats. The post 9/11 years of Bush's presidency were definitely marked by chilled speech, especially in certain areas.

 

[Clara D.]

I was actually being facetious, but as far as the Dixie Chicks, it wasn't a boycott. They were blacklisted overnight in their industry and also had multiple death threats. The post 9/11 years of Bush's presidency were definitely marked by chilled speech, especially in certain areas.

The whole "questioning the President" = "Traitor" thing. When one of the great things about living in a "Free Country" is the ability to be critical of the Government without retribution. Assholes.

It's the same assholes who whine INCESSANTLY when there's a D in the White House, but are all GTFO U TRATER COMMIE if you do exactly the same thing to an R president.

 

[Cristiano]

Oh yeah, here's a plug for the amazing song the Dixie Chicks released in 2006 addressing what happened.

 

[Katheryne Helendale]

Yes, my perspective could definitely be colored by location and a dependence on a very broad and loosely based government-related and media clientele. The general atmosphere is so different between the Bush and Trump administrations. Back in the Bush years, it felt like there was a guillotine of patriotism lurking in every corner. Nobody wanted to get "Dixie Chixed", even in their small circles. The Bush administration rolled into town in fleets of Mercedes with power and had their tentacles in everything. Yes, people really did whisper.

By contrast, you could throw darts at picture of Trump in Starbucks and nobody is going to do a damn thing. His brand has always been toxic and people freely mock him with no consequence. Nobody wants to be in a picture with him and the elite would be horrified to think that their prize Ivy League thoroughbreds were doing an internship in his White House and there might be some kind of permanent record of that. That's just the opinion and observation of an unimportant little piggy waiting in line for the trough.

I will grant you that GWB was untouchable right after 9/11. For the first time in a long time, we were a country unified by a common cause, even if we went after the wrong actors as a result. But that high didn't last very long, and when it wore out and people saw him for who he truly was, it was game on.

By contrast, I have had my car vandalized because I've got an old Obama sticker on it, and have even been threatened with rape and other acts of violence for "bad-mouthing" "Our Lord and Savior Donald Trump" deep in the heart of California's Trump Country. I finally had to remove the sticker when I got tired of replacing my tires. I had never had that kind of experience when GWB was in office.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Ellen DeGeneres is nice, isn’t she? She dances funny. She’s got lovely twinkly eyes and she’s made it OK for grans everywhere to love lesbians, if they’re like Ellen and are nice and do dancing. Last week, the comedian and talkshow host used a segment of her show to perform a four-minute monologue on the importance of being friends with people whose views do not always resemble our own, especially when it comes to awkward topics such as war crimes.

More at

Ellen DeGeneres: should we judge her by the company she keeps? | Rebecca Nicholson

Mixing with George W Bush doesn’t exactly enhance her liberal credentials

www.theguardian.com

 

[Katheryne Helendale]

More at

Ellen DeGeneres: should we judge her by the company she keeps? | Rebecca Nicholson

Mixing with George W Bush doesn’t exactly enhance her liberal credentials

www.theguardian.com

I like Ellen. I don't care who she hangs out with. She adds intelligence to a room just by walking into it. If she can rub some of that off onto any conservatives she comes into contact with, so much the better.

 

[Ishina]

For a mafiosa, at least Trump hasn't killed any body.

Well, personally.

Neither did Hitler.

 

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

Ellen DeGeneres and George W. Bush bravely find common ground as rich white people

DALLAS, TX - Comedian and LGBTQ+ icon Ellen DeGeneres was seen with former President George W. Bush at a football game this past weekend. Following the backlash, DeGeneres responded by bravely exposing that despite different beliefs they have found common ground as rich white people.

www.thebeaverton.com

 

[Aribeth Zelin]

Here's a point I'd like to make. There was a story a little while back, where on of the Storm Front kids [think his godfather was David Duke, FFS], was trying to go to college, and well, when people learned who he was, he was initially ostracized. Then someone had the bright idea of 'Hey, let's be friends instead.' and last I read the SF dude had repudiated all of that life.

Thing is, there are plenty of republican/social conservatives who can learn tolerance and a more progressive outlook, but not through being ignored.

 

[Ishina]

Thing is, there are plenty of republican/social conservatives who can learn tolerance and a more progressive outlook, but not through being ignored.

It's a good point. You should be sure to defend it from oblivious wealthy people when they steal it as an excuse for cozying up with homophobic war criminals.

 

[Bartholomew Gallacher]

Neither did Hitler.

Hitler fought voluntarily during WWI on the west front, most of the time he was a courier more behind the lines, but in the beginning he was not. So chances are there that he killed there some people personally whose names we'll never know.

 

[Soen Eber]

There is also strong evidence he killed his sister because she was dating an "undesireable" person in his eyes.

 

[danielravennest]

I finally had to remove the sticker when I got tired of replacing my tires. I had never had that kind of experience when GWB was in office.

Whites are afraid of losing their place at the top of the social heap, and that makes them very angry. For example, the Atlanta Metro is projected to grow by over 2 million people by 2050, with whites dropping from 47.5% to 31% of the population. Atlanta is already 57% of the state population, and like most large cities, leans liberal and diverse.

 

[detrius]

Oh, you mean the group who went on to win grammys and was the biggest selling country group of all time at one point long after 2003? It wasn't right, but, before that and to this day, we boycott things we disagree with. I mean a dude wearing a Colin Kaepernick jersey was thrown out of Trump's rally in Minneapolis and Colin still can't find a decent quarter-backing job despite his talent. By the way, I DID agree with them, and never boycotted them, and when I heard someone bitching about them, reminded them that we have a 1st Amendment.

And, I still didn't have to whisper anything to anyone. Ever. I've always been pretty outspoken, politically, and I feel like it's more of a problem NOW, smack-dab in Trump country, then I ever did during Bush's tenure. And that was my question. WHERE do people live that they had to walk around whispering to each other. Because I didn't in Conservative Lancaster County where they'd vote for a cow as long as it had an "R" next to it's name on the ballot.

I mean, a dude just pulled a gun on a woman with an Elizabeth Warren bumper sticker last week. No one pulled a gun on the Dixie Chicks. I feel more like I should whisper NOW. I don't, because I won't, though.

I think there are two factors at play here: the first one is the general consensus in the population, the second one is the indivial extremism on the personal level.

Bush II's approval ratings peaked at 90% after 9/11 - and when he launched the invasion of Iraq, 70% of the people were behind him. Trump on the other hand never got above 50%, but his core supporters are far more extreme.

So America went from a large majority of people who were at best ignorant of the fascist tendencies of the Cheney/Bush administration (to me as a German the whole prelude to the Iraq War was never anything but a unfaithful remake of the Gleiwitz incident) to a much smaller number of people who would volunteer to do guard duty in concentration camps if you asked them.

And I honestly can't tell you which scenario is more frightening: to have a large number of citizens in your country who are passive about illegal wars or to have a smaller number of worse people who're eager supporters of such policies.

 

[Brenda Archer]

It was obvious to me at the time, that Iraq 1 and 2 were oil wars, and that 2 was where America attacked the wrong people on manufactured pretexts.

It was also obvious to me when 9/11 was used to introduce Dominionism and mass surveillance. It was an excuse to hand power to the extreme Right. I’ve been afraid of these people ever since.

But I think a lot of people were naive at the time. We have no such excuses now, and so the hard Right is the cult that is left.

Steven Hassan is going to come out soon with a book analyzing Trumpism as a cult:
The Cult of Trump - Freedom of Mind Resource Center
Hassan’s earlier books describe how to deconvert yourself or someone you care about from a cult or an authoritarian group. He is the clearest writer on this subject there is. His older book is the best:
Combating Cult Mind Control - Freedom of Mind Resource Center

None of the Republican politics was a surprise; political Evangelicals were already a cult.

 

[GoblinCampFollower]

Neither did Hitler.

It's possible he did. So much of the orange one's macho behavior comes from the fact that he knows he's a coward and a draft dodger. Hitler actually was in battle and it's not like we have great data on who killed who even in modern wars.

 

[Clara D.]

It was obvious to me at the time, that Iraq 1 and 2 were oil wars,

Or opium. The resurgence of heroin seems to coincide with us mucking about in the middle east.